(Summertime Author Binge-ing on Jim Arnsoky)
Yesterday I wrote about our practice of author binge-ing during the summer and shared some of our favorite books by Dahlov Ipcar. In June we also enjoyed tons and tons (ok , more like tens and tens) of books by author/illustrator Jim Arnosky. So today I'll share my thoughts on Arnosky with you :)
Jim Arnosky is a self-taught artist and naturalist who has combined his interests and talents to write informative, beautiful, and engaging books for children. It's clear that he has a passion for sharing his love nature with young people. And my kids love the way in which he does it. He's written over 100 books for children, so it's likely that your library will have a very large and wonderful selection of his work for you to check out.
Many of his books are delightfully story-like while still conveying plenty of information about a subject - a particular animal or animal group, habitat, or event. The stories my kids love best are the ones in which he describes an event he watched unfold while out in nature. Some of our favorites like this are
(this is my personal favorite!)
Several of his books I love because they're written very simply with large font and words suitable for beginning readers. When my oldest was still practicing early reading, I'd ask him to read these books to the younger kids for "science class." While the words are simple, the stories are still enjoyable and the illustrations (mostly colored pencil artwork) are beautiful!
Arnosky also has a series of informational books that we like quite a bit. Animals in the "All About..." series include rattlesnakes, sharks, lizards, manatees, turkeys, turtles, frogs, alligators, owls, and more. We've enjoyed several of these... they make great lunchtime reading material :)
Finally -- and it's not really finally, because he has so written so much more but I just can't cover it all here -- Jim Arnosky has a series of books for young naturalists in which topics are presented by a a character called Crinkleroot. These books cover a wide variety of topics such as tracking, identifying animals tracks, identifying common animals and trees, understanding habitats, and how to make the most of a nature walk. For older children and adults that are interested in learning more about drawing from nature, Arnosky also has books on sketching - Sketching Outdoors in Summer
(and other titles that cover autumn, winter, and spring.)
My kids and I all love Arnosky's books. They are a perfect blend of lovingly detailed artwork, engaging stories, and information about the natural world. As I said, an Arnosky study is easy to pull off because he's written and illustrated so gosh darn much! I bet you'll be able to find a lot of the library. Enjoy!
Do you have any Arnosky favorites?
(and other titles that cover autumn, winter, and spring.) My kids and I all love Arnosky's books. They are a perfect blend of lovingly detailed artwork, engaging stories, and information about the natural world. As I said, an Arnosky study is easy to pull off because he's written and illustrated so gosh darn much! I bet you'll be able to find a lot of the library. Enjoy!
Do you have any Arnosky favorites?
- a lovely story of a boy and foal who are born on the same day on a farm. They grow together, both doing the farm chores they're capable of. And when it's time to replace Betty, the horse, with a modern tractor, the boy keeps her to be the one horse on the one-horse farm.
is the story of a merman who tends his underwater farm. I just think it's the most ridiculous story I've ever read. (ridiculous in a bad way, not a delightfully funny way...) But maybe you're into that sort of thing. That's ok.... 
